Millions of documents are sent back and forth every day. Substantial effort and time is spent in the overhead of addressing these documents. In the workplace, this substantial time and effort results in increased cost and expense.
Many document management systems have been proposed and implemented in the past. These document management systems include systems that store documents and handle the coordination of requests with responses. However, these systems do not cut across organizational boundaries and do not perform the synchronization that is necessary.
A log is a document management tool used to record information. Logs may use a client-server framework to permit the addition or subtraction of content from one or more client locations to a server that hosts the web log. Because one server hosts each log, web logs are typically anchored to a particular HTTP location.
Furthermore, identification of parties that exchange requests and responses, documents, etc. is increasingly important in the digital age. Parties must identify themselves, as well as respond to identification requests. Typically this communication is facilitated by shared public key encryption. However, static and pre-generated encryption keys may be hacked or stolen, thus allowing attackers to reveal, steal, and exploit secret information.
A reliable, shared history forms the basis for trust within communities. Standard processes such as encrypted transactions, double entry accounting, and paper trails provide traceability and support for auditing. Independent verification of these records is critical to the functional of all communities and institutions, from local clinics and self-help groups to global stock exchanges.